GPS/Flight Planner/ATC/Auto Pilot

Hi all. I am trying very hard to learn the relationship between the GPS,
Flight Planner, ATC and Auto Pilot, but it is not easy. I have read and
re-read the FS Manual a number of times, but what is happening is that I am
hardly using the program any more because I am spending so much time reading
the manual.

Is there any really good site with FS tutorials and downloadable flights,
where I can learn how to use these 4 features and how they interrelate with
each other?

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY

dave,

read this below, then get your nose out of the screen, and have fun for
awhile. once you get the hang of this, i think the rest will fall in to
place. i use gps for a back up. not my main source of navigation. but you
can use it for navigation.
try lesson below . then repost any questions and we'll add or do something
different :-) take a deap breathe if you get frustrated. mail me at my
junk mail . then i will contact you via real e-mail
and i'll set server up so we can fly on-line :-)


from one of my earlier posts :
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 9:51 PM


please copy and print.

here are some simple procedures to get the feel for an ILS landing.

disclaimer: i am not a pilot
do not try this with real aircraft !


alright lets use the baron58

let's start at KRDG (reading, pa.) for the sake that we can use ILS runway
36.

the ILS feather as described by microsoft, is the green arrow pointing
toward runway that you can see when looking at 'map view' or 'GPS'.

runways with green 'feather' have an ILS frequency.
if you would like to find an airport ILS runway frequency, use the 'map
view'.

so at KRDG field elevation is 344' ILS runway 36 frequency is 109.50.
runway 36 heading is 004º.

so i would write this up like this: KRDG+344'

rw36-109.50-004º

ok so we are sitting on runway 36 at KRDG with engines running , bring up
radio stack and put 109.50 in to NAV1 radio and activate. set altitude to
2400' in radio stack. turn on ALT switch (altitude hold).
set VS (vertical speed) to 800' per minute.

now for the compass rose in middle of dash with all the headings on
it(north,east,south,west), it's called a Horizontal Situation Indicator .
we'll call it HSI for short.on the HSI you will notice 2 knobs on bottom.
the knob on lower right is the for aircraft heading(the way you want plane
to travel while on auto pilot).that moves the bug around the HSI.so run the
bug to the top of the HSI, that should be close to 004º,since that's the way
plane is pointing.
the knob in the lower left is for direction that the runway is heading. so
roll that until yellow arrow in the HSI is pointing to the top or 044º. this
will be the last time you touch that knob.(runway heading)

now on the HSI you might have noticed when you activated 109.50 on radio
stack in NAV1 that 2 yellow triangles appeared on each side of the HSI
towards the top. those are the Glideslope Indicators(meaning as plane sits
on runway,it is below the glideslope). we'll call them GSI. and we'll call
glideslope GS.

ok: we now have altitude in at 2400' and turned on
we now have VS set to 800'
we now have 109.50 set in NAV1
we now have runway36 heading of 004º set in HSI with runway heading
arrow.
we now have heading bug ran up to 004º (or there abouts)in HSI, now
turn on HDG switch on bottom of radio stack.
NOTE:the only switches turned on at this time are the HDG and ALT
switches on bottom of radio stack.
we will use auto pilot, BUT NOT YET !!

now all you need to do is to roll down runway 36 and get plane airborne. we
will leave landing gear down for now. and put flaps full. 2 less things to
worry about :-)

ok, full throttle and get plane airborne.

once you have plane stabilized hit the "Z" key on your keyboard (or AP
switch on bottom of radio stack).this will turn on autopilot. you should now
be flying hands off and plane should be on runway heading of 004º. (upwind)

that' the last time you are going to use manual controls. you will now fly
full autopilot all the way to ground.

continue to fly heading 004º till you are about 1000' altitude, now roll
heading bug knob with cursor till it is on heading 090º - or E on the
HSI(crosswind leg).plane will make a 90º turn to right.

continue to fly heading 090º till altitude 2000'. now roll heading bug with
cursor to 180º -or S on the HSI (downwind leg).plane will make a 90º turn
toward right. on downwind leg airport will be on your right.you are in a
right hand traffic pattern. just past abeam tower GS arrows will appear on
the bottom of the HSI. plane should be around 2400' at around 125kts. and
you still haven't touched any manual controls.

as you get toward the 'fat' end of ILS feather the GSI arrows will start to
climb. this is good ! still at 2400' on a 180º heading.

BRING UP "GPS" - fly past airport PA43 toward the end of the ILS feather.
once past airport PA43 and the GSI arrows are toward the top of the
HSI,roll heading bug with cursor to heading 270º or W (base leg)on the
HSI.plane will now make a 90º toward the right.

after rolling heading bug to 270º go to bottom of radio stack and turn on
the APR switch. now you should have 3 switches turned on the bottom of radio
stack. the ALT, the HDG, and the APR .

ok time for manual work. the only thing you are going to manually control at
this point, is the throttle. bring it back slowly till plane is at 100kts.
airspeed. i use the numbers on top of screen. to display these, hit shft+z
on your keyboard. keep plane pretty close to 100kts.

plane will now be captured by ILS, it will make a right 90º turn to final,
to 004º by itself. you may have to increase throttle in turn to hold 100kts.
HDG switch will automatically be turned off by auto pilot.

you are now on an 7-9 nm final.

when GS is captured, plane will start to lose altitude. your job(should you
decide to accept it) is to keep plane at 100kts or so. you will have to
throttle back a little bit.don't worry if it goes above or below 100 a few
kts. though right airspeed is important. ALT switch will automatically be
turned off by autopilot.

as you cross the threshold throttle back apply brakes.

once you get the hang of it , you will use flaps , landing gear.

jets are basically the same, just more airspeed upon landing. small planes
to jumbo jets. you must be below glideslope before activating APR. and
2100-2400' above field elevation from 'fat' end of "ILS feather' . plus
intercepting ILS shouldn't be done at a 90º angle.

but it works here for what we are trying to learn and accomplish :-)
so no need to tell me how far off my procedures are. i'm only trying to pass
basic information to anyone who is willing to try the basic concept of an
ILS landing.

GOODLUCK !!!!!!!!!!!!!



"Dave Schwartz" wrote in message
et...
Hi all. I am trying very hard to learn the relationship between the GPS,
Flight Planner, ATC and Auto Pilot, but it is not easy. I have read and
re-read the FS Manual a number of times, but what is happening is that I
am
hardly using the program any more because I am spending so much time
reading
the manual.

Is there any really good site with FS tutorials and downloadable flights,
where I can learn how to use these 4 features and how they interrelate
with
each other?

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY

me @ comcast wrote:
dave,

read this below, then get your nose out of the screen, and have fun for
awhile. once you get the hang of this, i think the rest will fall in to
place. i use gps for a back up. not my main source of navigation. but you
can use it for navigation.


disclaimer: i am not a pilot do not try this with real aircraft !

Really good Dave. I saved it also. I'm sure a RL pilot would explain it
better. Take me for example. Flew since 1970 (I know, I'm a yung'un) so
I have lots of knowledge. Take GPS for example. I can .. well I flew..
to tell the truth, I NEVER flew with a GPS. I ordered a LORAN to help
me navigate in the Saudi/Iraqui desert. Still have it, Voyager it was.
Should've bought a GPS. BUT, I can sure explain that auto-pilot. Got
to use it once in an Aztec for ONE 180 degree turn. Then had to turn it
off for the 13th single engine ILS for that day. My instructor probably
was too nervous with all two engines running at the same time I guess.
But I can explain ADF approaches pretty well. That's all most of the
aircraft I flew had installed, if they even had that. But even that was
only used to listen to AM radio. Now we're down to a 1:250,000 map. the
old standby.

I'm telling a joke Dave. Your explanation was really good. I did save it.


--


boB

Flying FS2002 in Texas

P4
2.66G
512 Ram
Ti4200
__________________________________________________ _______________________
Bob, Gabriella, Kuma, Chica, Balto, Blitz, Gussie, Costa and Tiger
Kempner, Central Texas
__________________________________________________ _______________________

"Dave Schwartz"
I have read and re-read the
FS Manual a number of times

There's a manual? Wow, I was ripped off.

usual nasty grin
KDFW

"boB"
I ordered a LORAN to help
me navigate in the Saudi/Iraqui desert. Still have it,


Don't throw it away.. you can still use it in your ski boat.

(That is, if you could ever find your ski boat. :-)

Dallas

Thanks "Me" Have you got a real name? Just saved your ILS landing
procedure can't wait to give it a try. It has all been a mystery to
me.

Cheers,

Al.

I'm having the same problem. The issue with the in-game help is that there
are LOTS of instructions on how to operate the GPS' many buttons and access
its many pages, but very little effort put into the 'when and why' you use
it. More 'when and why' are infinitely more accessible for newcomers.

I recently discovered the dusty box of an older PC flight sim called Flight
Unlimited when clearing out my attic. It was developed by Looking Glass
Technologies (who are sadly no longer in business). Their nicely printed
(shock horror) paper manual described all the instruments not only in
technical manual operation terms but also included sections on when and why
you would use them in certain situations. This is lacking for the most part
in all versions of Microsoft's sim.

I have FS2004 and can plainly see it's a superb flight sim but I'm finding
learning how to fly within it more of a chore than a challenge. I'm sure
learning to fly in the real world is more fun than this?

At the risk of appearing cynical I can imagine that the kind of detail and
instruction mentioned above is restricted to the "Official Strategy Guide"
publications that accompany many games these days. Does anyone have this
guide and is it worth the price?

-DE

"Dave Schwartz" wrote in message
et...
Hi all. I am trying very hard to learn the relationship between the GPS,
Flight Planner, ATC and Auto Pilot, but it is not easy. I have read and
re-read the FS Manual a number of times, but what is happening is that I
am
hardly using the program any more because I am spending so much time
reading
the manual.

Is there any really good site with FS tutorials and downloadable flights,
where I can learn how to use these 4 features and how they interrelate
with
each other?

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY

I bought the official strategy guide for 2002 and thought it was useless.
If I could find it I would send it to you for free but I think I must have
chucked it. The only good thing was that the company sent me the wrong
version and it had a copy of the game with it, they didn't reply to my
e-mail so I had 2 legal copies running.

The manual that came with Fly!, another sim, was very detailed. I have seen
this in bargain bins very cheap recently. If it's got the manual it would
be worth spending a few pounds (dollars) just for that.

There are many websites that go through the basics. Have a look at

http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/
http://www.tony.smiths.btinternet.co...e_tutorial.htm

"DE" wrote in message
...
I'm having the same problem. The issue with the in-game help is that there
are LOTS of instructions on how to operate the GPS' many buttons and
access
its many pages, but very little effort put into the 'when and why' you use
it. More 'when and why' are infinitely more accessible for newcomers.

I recently discovered the dusty box of an older PC flight sim called
Flight
Unlimited when clearing out my attic. It was developed by Looking Glass
Technologies (who are sadly no longer in business). Their nicely printed
(shock horror) paper manual described all the instruments not only in
technical manual operation terms but also included sections on when and
why
you would use them in certain situations. This is lacking for the most
part
in all versions of Microsoft's sim.

I have FS2004 and can plainly see it's a superb flight sim but I'm finding
learning how to fly within it more of a chore than a challenge. I'm sure
learning to fly in the real world is more fun than this?

At the risk of appearing cynical I can imagine that the kind of detail and
instruction mentioned above is restricted to the "Official Strategy Guide"
publications that accompany many games these days. Does anyone have this
guide and is it worth the price?

-DE

"Dave Schwartz" wrote in message
et...
Hi all. I am trying very hard to learn the relationship between the
GPS,
Flight Planner, ATC and Auto Pilot, but it is not easy. I have read and
re-read the FS Manual a number of times, but what is happening is that I
am
hardly using the program any more because I am spending so much time
reading
the manual.

Is there any really good site with FS tutorials and downloadable
flights,
where I can learn how to use these 4 features and how they interrelate
with
each other?

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY

DE wrote:
I'm having the same problem. The issue with the in-game help is that there
are LOTS of instructions on how to operate the GPS' many buttons and access
its many pages, but very little effort put into the 'when and why' you use
it. More 'when and why' are infinitely more accessible for newcomers.

I agree that the info supplied is a bit obscure at times, but part of
the problem is that you (ad me) expect answers where we're looking, and
maybe should think about the whether we're looking in the right place.

This is not a game with it's own purpose and goal. Everything you see is
a simulation (or has an equivalent) in the real world. So, to understand
how to fly a plane you might resort to books and sites about flying a
plane, not books about how to fly a flightsimulator.

If you want to know how (or why) to plan a flight and what roles the
different pieces of equipment play, find some books or sites about
flightplanning and nav-equipment as they are used to get a real plane
from A to B. You cannot expect a (already quite large) manual of a
simulator to cover all aspects of the reality it is simulating.

Try eg. to go to Garmin's site to find a lot of stuff about GPS's; just
an example.

This means you have to start thinking about leaning to fly and to learn
about using the simulator. This is somewhat more complicated maybe, but
it is far more satisfying (to me at least) and the amount of info is far
more extensive than you'd ever get about how to be playing a game.

Ursa..

--
==================================
Ursa (Major)/ \ *-*-* *
___________/====================================\_______*-*______

I can appreciate the frustration of those who are attempting to understand
and operate the systems, especially the GPS software that Microsoft has
included on FS9.

For my part, I think I could grasp the procedures if given an example to
follow, an actual step by step procedure in setting up and working the
various options in the GPS.
All it would take is someone who understands the four relationships well
enough to write a guide or "how to" for those of us who learned how to drive
a car by example
Ken